Device for dyeing suspended hank yarn



BEST AVAILABLE COPY ""0" In Venzf,

BEST AVAXLABLE COP".

Aug. 31 1926. 1,598,205

R. LICHTNER lDEVICE FOR DYING SUSPENDED HANK YARN Filed Augnst 21. 1925 2 Sheets-Shea?l 2 sesi-AVAu AsLe comY Patented Aug. 31, 1926.

vmuren srares RUDOLPH LCETNER, F IJIAILAND, ITALY.

DEVICE EOE DYEING sUsrEnDED HANK YARN. i

Application led August 21, 1925, Serial No. 51,630, and in Germanylanuary 26, 1923.

The dyeing of wool in the hank while the latter is kept suspended offers many advantages and is therefore generally practised, but it has been found impossible so far to obtain equally good results with respect to cotton for the reason that the suspended hanks could not be uniformly dyed at the points where they rested on their supports.

The means hitherto employed to overcome l0 this dilliculty such as slow raising and quick, sudden lowering of the entire supporting frame or imparting an oscillating movement to it while keeping the liquor stationary or circulating or causing it to lowrapidly etc. have not brought about'the desired results. or to a very limited degree only, and required the construction of very complicated apparatus which did not permit the squeezing of the hanks immediately after dyeing as is necessary in case of sulfide andpvat dyes to produce uniform coloring.

The present invent-ion eliminates all these drawbacks and relates to a device for d veing suspended hank yarns by Ameans of a circulating vat dye liquor. The hanks are suspended from a frame capable of being inserted in the vat and provided with a device for moving the goods to be dyed during the dyeing process. To ensure thorough and uniform dyeing of the hanks, particularly at the points of suspension, they are moved so that a slow upward movement is followed by a sudden downward movement. According to the 'invention the device is fitted with carrying poles for the yarn which are bent like a bow at their middle parts while their outer ends project from the vat, so that the poles in their entirety or in groups or singly can be slowly raised and quickly lowered by means of mechanically driven cams etc. Without removing the hanks from the liquor. It is furthermore possible to squeeze the yarn thoroughly and uniformly` while the vatdye is in a perfectly reduced condition, immediately after dyeing. Another feature of this invention consists in the fact that arrangements have been made to hang up the hanks in an easy and secure manner, so that the individual hanks are very close together without becoming entangled or causing entanglements of the threads of the individual hanks.

One form of the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings which show the device partly provided with hank tion. I y

Fig.y 1 vis a vertical central longitudinal sectional View of the device, it being assumed that parts are 'broken away at the center of the device and that the upper central portion appears inside elevation.

ig. is the corresponding plan view an Fig. 3 .al transverse section on the broken line III-III in Fig. 1.

l `igg 4ishows, on. a considerably enlarged scale, apart ofthe support of lan upper carrying pole for the hank yarn on the left side'of-"therde'vi'ce on fthe 'line IV-V in yarn and in working posi- Figs.` 5 and 6 aresfragmental plan views of modified features of themeans for movingr the hank yarn-carriers. Referring t0 Figs'. 1 to 4, the device cons ists chiefly of the dye vat 1 with bottom 2 and overflow wall 3, the box or frame comprising the beams 4 and 10, and the squeezer which is directly attached to the vat. The .squeezer consists of twoprollers 38. 38', supporting uprights 37, and a catch trough 52- having an outlet 53 to return the squeezed out liquor to the vat.

The beams 1Q of the previously-mentioned frame are provided with notches 11 to receive the flat iron bars 14 which serve as carrying poles for the hank yarn to be suspended therefrom. The bars 14 are arranged on edge and bent edgewise and downwardly in such a way at their middle portion 14 that the latter barely fits crossvvise into the frame 4.l 10 and that their outer ends 14 can be inserted in the notches 11 of the beams 10 according?` to Figs. l and 4. The notches 11 are just deep enough to cause the ends 14 of the bars 14 to project slightly over the upper edge of the vat 1 after the frame 4, 10 with the carrying poles or bars 14 has been inserted in the vat.

The frame rests on an intermediate bottom 9 provided with perforations 9 and kept at a suiiicient distance from the bottom 2 of the vat 1 by beams, so that the liquor passingr through the supply pipe 54 in the center of the bottom 2 is distributed by the said perforations 9 and thus reaches the goods to be dyed.

Attached to the two long sides of the frame 4, 10 are bearings .17 for the ends of horizontal rock shafts 16 carrying fixed collars 18 provided on the inner ends of rigid arms or levers 19 and 20, said collars being located at points which lie vertically underneath the notches 11 of the beams 10, so that the said parts 19 and 20 thus constitute holding arms for the lower loops of the hanks suspended from the carrying poles or bars 14 on being swung laterally into the hanging yarn. The holding arms 19,

2O are arranged'in two setsone on each side v of the group of rows of hanks carried by the poles and extend at leastv to the center of the vat. On the rear ends of the shafts 16 are cranks 21, each of which, by means of a connecting-rod 22, is connected with a corresponding-.upper crank 23 secured to a shaft 24 rotatably arranged in the -upper cross beam 5 of the frame. At their rear ends theshafts 24 are tted with hand levers 25. The cross beam 5 can be fastened at each end to theframe 4, 10 by means of the screw 13,' the hand ywheel 13 and the guide12.

In a corresponding manner an upper cross beam 6 is arranged on the other end of the frame fin guides 7 and can be fixed by means ofthe screws 8 with hand wheels 8 so as to be easily removable.

Rotatablyattached to the two long sides of the dye vat 1 are shafts 28onwhich are rigidly mounted long'bushings 29 and which -re'st in bearings 26,- 27 According to Figs. 1, 2 and 4, each bushing is provided along its entire length with a cam or wiper which is of, gradually-increasing height from its inner to its-outer edge and termi-` nates abruptly at the latter edge. AMounted on the rear ends of the shafts 28 are bevel wheels 31 which cooperate ywith bevel wheels 32, attached Ito a common shaft 33. Said shaft 33 is arranged in bearings 34'on the rear side of the I'vat 1, and providedon one end with fast and loose pulleys 35 and 36 for driving.

The squeezer is connected to the front end of the dye vat' 1 in the usual manner and consists of the two previously-mentioned rollers 38, 38 which are arranged parallel to the 'carrying bars or poles 14 and whose shafts 40, 40 and bushings 43, 43 rest in vertical slots 37 formed in the uprights 37 The rollers 38', 38 are provided with soft coverings 39', 39 respectively, andthe upper roller 38 applies pressure by its own weight to the lower roller 38' which can be driven by means of the fast and loose pulleys 41 and 42.

Should the weight of the upper roller be too great for the pressure desired in a given case. the bushings 43 of said roller are, on the inside of the uprights 37, towards the rollers. mounted in inverted yolres 44 which straddle'the bushings 43 of the roller 38 and its shaft 40 and which are firmly connected below with tension and compression springs 45. Each spring is further connected with a plate 46 adapted to slide along the inner surface of the adjacent upright 37 and guided by a screw 47 by means of a correspond ing thread bore. rlhis screw is inserted through a slit 51 in a bracket 50 on the upright 3.7 and is held in axial direction at the said bracket 50 by means offits head and, on top, by a lock nut 48.

rEhe operation -'of the device is as follows:

The banks 15 are placed on the poles 14, 14', 14 and then inserted together with them intol the frame 4,-10, which is at that time outside the vat 1, after the hand levers `25 have beenfswung into their lower or horizontal position indicated by doteand-dash lines in v-F-ig. 3, thereby actuating the crank system 23--2221 and the shafts 1G to which the last-nan'ie'dparts are secured, so that the holding arms 19and 20 are caused to occupy theirvertical position represented in dotted lines. Then the poles, with the hanks evenly distributed Valong their depending central portions 14, are inserted oneby one into the frame 4,510 by vdepositing their ends 14 in the 'notches 11--ofthe longitudinal beams 10 ofthe frame. After all hanks have been put on the-'poles and 'all poles have been inserted into the frame, the hand levers 25 are swung` back into vertical position while the 'lower holding arms 19 and 20 are passed through the hanlis below the poles 14 until they reach the l'horizontal position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, in ,which position'they do not rest fon the lower loops of the vhanks but are disposed a slight distance thereabove.

After the-above preparations have been made, the frame 4, 10, by means of cranes, pulley blocks, etc., is then inserted in the dye vat 1, as represented in Figs. land 2, the vat having been previously filled with' the dyeing liquor consisting, for example, of vat or sulphide dye solutions etc., whereupon the liquor is circulated by a circulating pump etc. by being withdrawn through the outlet 55 of the overflow chamber of the vat 1 and pumped back through the pipe 54 in the bottom 2 of the vat. By means of the perforations 9 in the intermediate bottom 9 the liquor is distributed through the-entire cross-sectional area of the vat which is filled with yarn and rises until it flows over the top of wall 3 into the overflow chamber, whence it exhausts vthrough outlet 55. After a while the direction of rotation of the circulatinapump is reversed, so that it sucks up the liquor through the 4branch 54 and returns it through the branch 55 over the overflow wall 3 and thus acts upon the hanks 15 from above. IDuring this time the shafts 28 with their cams 3() rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4. so that said cams 30, bv means of their gradually rising surfaces, slowly lift the poles 14, 14, 14"' and the banks of yarn suspended therefrom upon they abruptly drop the poles. While this is going on, the banks almost float in the liquor and do not followl the downward movement with equal speed, but sink down gradually to their lowest position; The loops .of the hanks resting on the central portions 1li of the poles will be lifted off said portions and thoroughly penetrated by the liquor in this tensionless condition so that the yarn is thoroughly dyed at those points also. The number of revolutions of the shafts 28 with bushings 29 and cams 3() is relatively small, and the banks of yarn are raised and lowered approximately once or a few times every minute.

The lower holding arms 19, 20 can be so arranged that, on lifting the hanks, by means of the poles up tothe highest position,`they hold the lower: loops of the hanks during the 'last part of -thev lifting movement, so that the hanks acquire a certain tension and the liquor contained in them, 4is partly squeezed out, whereupon the hankslose their tension again while dropping and are saturated again with liquor.

After 'the yarn has thus been dyed thoroughly, the process is continued as follows: the beam 6 is removed from the frame 4:, 10, the lower holding arms 19, 20, are swung out of the hanks into their verticalv position by means of the hand levers 25, the poles with the hanks remaining thereon are removed by hand, one by one, at the front of the vat 1, and the hanks passed between the rollers 38, 38'.' The liquor still contained in the hanks is thus squeezed out according to the pressure applied by the upper roller 38 and returns through the channel 52, 53 to the vat l. In this manner premature oxidation of the vat dyes etc. in the yarn while removing the latter from the liquor and squeezing it is effectively prevented.

The entire device may be mounted in a more or less enclosed room or in a glass box filled with a neutral gas. In this case the removal of the beam 6 and the lifting of the carrying poles 14C with the hank yarn 15 may be effected by machinery capable of being operated from the outside. The liquor is thus kept eective for the longest possible time as it is constantly and uniformly mixed during` the dyeing process by the action of the circulating pumpand the movement of the banks, so that thorough and uniform dyeing of the whole amount of goods to be dyed is ensured.

To mix the liquor more thoroughly and ensure a still more thorough dyeing of the yarn, the cams 30, instead of being arranged parallel to the cam shafts 28 on the bushings 29, may run around the shafts 28 like a spiral as shown at 30 in Fig. 5, for the p-urpose o-f raising and lowering not all of the poles sssr AvAuAeLs com atoncebut successively at various times. This arrangement requires that each pole be raised at both ends'simultaneously, or nearly so, by the cams 30. Or according to Fig. 6 a few short bushings 29', each of which is provided with a cam 30 intended for acting on one or a few carrying poles only, may be mounted on the shafts Z8 while fixing the adjacent bushings 29 with their cams 30 opposite to each other at a certain angle in order to raise and lower the corresponding poles at different times.

On account of the form and arrangement of the carrying poles in conjunction with the peculiar movement of the hanks of yarn, the latter are constantly kept in the liquor during the dyeing process and thoroughly dyed. By squeezing the hanks successively pole by pole and directly after dyeing, thorough and uniform ageing in the air is ensured. so that any excess vliquor that may have been retained cannot cause inequalities in colora- .tionr- The hanks leaving the rollers 38, 38',

can also be brought at once and in unoxidized condition into another dye vessel and rinsed with water if necessary.

Without the frame 4C, 10, the new device may also be used for dyeing hank yarn o1 fabrics or woven and knitted articles in a circulating liquor according to the piling system by piling the goodsto be dyed on the perforated intermediate bottom 9 of the vat 1 up to somewhat'below the top of the overliow wall 3, so that the goods are properly covered by the liquor.

By arranging the springs Ll5 as tension and compression springs the pressure of the rollers 38, 38 can be adjusted to any desired degree as the weight of the upper roller 88 can be more or less equalized by moving the plates 16 upwards and thus converting the springs L5 into compression springs, or the pressure between the rollers may be increased by adjusting the springs u 45 to act as tension springs.

If it is desired to arrange the lower hold.- ing arms on only one side of the frame and to swing them into the hanks only from this side, the said arms may be passed smoothly through the hanks without any i entanglement by putting a guide bar con` taining a groove extending over the entire length at the lower side on each holding arm when in vertical position and by passing the said guide bars through the hanks. It is, however, advisable in this case, to provide supports for the bars opposite the bearings 17 of the shafts 16 of said lower arms. The supports may be lowered by mechanical control so as to keep them at approximately the same height as the free ends of these arms when swinging into the banks, so that the guide bars remain always in an approximately horizontal position during their downward movement.

The lower `holding arms, guided by the grooves of the'said bars, `can then be just as easily removed from the hanks after dyeing. rlhis' is possible also without guide bars if the lower holding arms are swung up at an angle of about 45. The hanks can now be easily pulledoff the arms in an upward direction without causing entanglements.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare v.that what I claim is:

l. A device for dyeing suspended hank yarn, embodying a vat, and a frame to be inserted thereinto; poles extending across the tops of both the vat and the frame and having depending -central 1 yarn-supporting portions that constantly project below the level of the dyeing liquor; and means coacting with the ends of the poles for-moving the latter, with the hank yarn suspended therefrom, relatively to the frame, while said frame remains stationary.

2. A. device for dyeing 'suspended hank yarn, embodying a Vat, anda frameto be inserted thereinto; poles extending across the tops of both the vat and the frame and having depending central yarn-supporting portions that constantly project below the level of the dyeing liquor; and cams located exteriorly of the frame for coaction with the ends of the poles and having a gradually rising and suddenly descending surface for slowly lifting the poles, with the hank yarn suspended therefrom, relatively to the lframe and suddenly dropping them, while said frame remains stationary.

3. Av device. for dyeing suspended hank yarn embodying a vat and a frame to be inserted into said vat, suspending means for the hanlr yarn comprising upper movable supports and lower holding means; said lower holding means consisting of levers pivotally arranged in the device, at least one below each upper support, and at least one rock shaft to which said .levers are attached to swing the same into the suspended hanks; means for mechanically BEST AVAILABLE COPY moving said 'upper supports with the hank yarn embodying a vat and a frame to be i inserted into said vat, suspending means for the haul; yarn comprising upper mov-A able supports and lower holding means; said lower holding means comprising two arms disposed opposite each other below each upper support, and two rock shafts to which said arms are attached for swinging them into the suspended hanks from opposite sides; means for mechanically moving said upper support-s with-the hav-nl( yarn suspended therefrom within the dyeing liquor, and means for circulating the dyeing liquor.

5.'A device for dyeing suspended hank yarn embodying a vat and a frame to be .inserted into said vat, suspending means for the hank yarn comprising upper movable supports and lower-holding means; said lower holding 'means comprising two arms disposed opposite each other below each upper support, and two rock shafts to which said arms are 'attached to swing them into the suspended hanks from opposite sides; operating means for said shaft-s comprising cranks, coupling rods and hand levers, means for mechanically moving said upper supports with the hanlr yarn suspended therefrom within the dyeing liquor, and means for circulating the dyeing liquor.

6. A device for dyeing suspended haul: yarn embodying a vat and a frame to be inserted into said Vat, means for supending the hank yarn within the dyeing iiquor., means consisting of rotating shafts each of which carries a bushing provided with a cam extending over ,its entire length and parallel with the respective shaft for simultaneously moving all the yarn suspending means, and means for circulating the dyeing liquor.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature.

RUDOLPH LICHTNER.

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